Unemployment Claims Drop to Lowest Number in 45 Years

The decline marked the lowest number of jobless claims in 45 years, according to Reuters.

First-time claims for USA unemployment benefits pulled back to their lowest level in almost 45 years in the week ended January 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

Claims for the prior week were unrevised. The low number of jobless claims could lead to an increased number of people reentering the job search market, said DePaul University Professor of Economics Brian Phelan.

The calculations included estimated numbers for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, as the Department of Labor noted that the claims review process has still not resumed normal operation since Hurricanes Irma and Maria last September. That is the longest such stretch since Y 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.

The four-week moving average, a better gauge of the labor market's growth, was 244,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's average of 250,750, the report showed.

The 4-week average of claims rose 8,500 between the December and January survey periods, suggesting some moderation in the pace of job growth.

In Connecticut, just over 7,000 people submitted new unemployment claims during the second week of January, about 1,625 more than the previous week, with about 53,650 people on unemployment as of Jan. 6.